sorry i didn't update yesterday, and i was gonna update sooner today, but i'm sick, and i've been lazy and sleeping all day...:/ sorry. but here it is. i'm having to actually write new chapters starting with 26, so if it takes longer to update...sorry! i'll try and keep them just as regular, though. :)

R&R for more. :)

27. The Fight: Avenged Sevenfold

We were on the blanket in the meadow making out, like I had never imagined possible—so hard and so passionately. Occasionally, we would roll around and change who was on top, but usually, he was.

I liked that, but I also wanted to be in control.

Things got so heated and intimate that it was hot—literally—even though he was colder than ice. Edward ended up in his boxers at one point, and for a while, I was topless—with my bra on, of course. This, of course, made things even more concupiscent, but it didn't bother either one of us one bit.

Honestly, I can't tell you what time I finally gave up and went to sleep, because I don't know. But, I can tell you that it wasn't the same night that we started making out. Occasionally, between kisses, we would talk about stuff, pant that we love each other, and whatnot, but up until Saturday morning, we were mostly kissing.

And I fell asleep in his arms. Instead of sleeping in my dress, I just put on his shirt. When I slept, I had grown accustomed to sleeping in no wire bra, so I stole his shirt, took off my bra, and slept in just his shirt and underwear. He didn't look while I was changing. I know so, because he was turned around, and I was facing him the entire time. He wanted to, but he didn't.

He held me while I slept, and he was in just boxers too; which, let me tell you, is the sexiest sight I have seen so far, although I know one that I'm gonna think is even sexier one day. I've missed his well-defined muscular absolutely sexy chest.

And it was such a turn on.

That night, I slept better than I ever remember sleeping.

When I woke up, he was looking at me, watching me with those adoring eyes again. It was so comfortable, to wake up this way, and it was how I was looking forward to waking up for the rest of my human life.

"Can we tell Charlie first?" I asked curiously, voice soft.

"Of course, love," he murmured, knowing what I was referring to instantly. "I need to ask his permission before it's official anyways."

I rolled my eyes but smiled, unable to not smile. "I feel like I'm being courted."

"You aren't," he promised me tenderly, although either way worked for me. "Of course, if I was courting you, we would already be married. We would've been married back when we first met."

"Say we were still back in your human years, right before you were a vampire," I said brightly, thinking about all I knew of the time. "Would you have courted me if you saw me?"

"Without a doubt," he whispered, kissing my forehead tenderly. "I probably would've courted you the same day."

That pleased me, a lot, to the point I beamed at him. "Really?"

"Really, Mayze," he said gently, kissing my hands softly. "So, shall we tell Charlie now?"

I was slightly nervous as we turned onto the street where Charlie's house was. Charlie loved Edward, more than I could've imagined possible. After all, I'm his little girl. But, he did love him.

This was different, though. I'm not even seventeen just yet. Sure, I will be in December, but I'm not yet. Yet here I was, engaged and ready to be married when summer rolls along.

I just didn't know how well this was gonna go over. That's all I was worried about, because even though Charlie could stop me from getting married until next December, I knew he wouldn't. He just might not be too happy . . . .

When we pulled into the driveway, the way Edward tightened indicated that something was wrong. One glance at the vehicles here and I knew what it was.

Jacob was here.

Charlie's cruiser was too, so we had to go inside. Jacob was peeking out through Bella's window, watching us with a dark look in his already dark brown eyes.

Edward looked over at me with an irate expression. "This makes things more complicated."

"What?" I asked softly with raised eyebrows.

He laughed as he glanced over at me, studying my appearance thoroughly. Whatever it was that pissed him off wasn't as important as whatever it was he was laughing at me about. "You look quite sexy. You have sex hair."

I grinned at him. "Seriously?"

"They'll think that's what we were doing," he pointed out, glancing down at me. If I didn't know better, I would say he was looking down his shirt. But, I did know better. "Especially since you're completely in my clothes."

I bit my lip. "Well . . . I mean, your clothes are way more comfortable, and much warmer."

He rolled his eyes with that grin still plastered on his lip. "You just wanted to be in my clothes. Admit it."

"Okay, so, I did," I scowled. "But, they really are more comfortable."

"Emmett will demand a thorough explanation when we get home, though," he admitted. "You came in with sex hair, my shirt, and that was it. Sure, he was the only one who saw you, but still. He will demand an explanation."

"And I'll tell him," I said lightly.

He didn't wait anymore to rush around and open my door, but this time, I was able to react fast enough to where I was opening it right as he was.

"Damn it," I murmured. "So close."

"Please just let me do this," he whispered, his arms wrapping around my waist as he pulled me tightly against his ice cold body. "I owe you the world, and so much more, so this is the least I can do. If I can give you nothing else, at least let me have this."

I kissed him softly before giving him a gentle smile. "Okay, baby. You can have that."

He returned that smile with my absolute favorite one. "Thank you."

"But, I disagree with that," I informed him, our hands lacing together as we headed inside. "You don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you."

He stared at me, completely horrified. "Mayze, you—"

"Edward!" Embry exclaimed suddenly, opening the door with a grin as he cut him off. "What's up, man?"

Edward laughed, allowing his mind to temporarily clear out what I had just said. "Hey, Embry! I'm just here talking to Charlie. What about you?"

He titled his head towards me, grinning. "Takin' a break after lookin' after that one. She's a handful."

"I know," Edward murmured, eyes now on me. "She definitely is."

"Worth it though," Embry added cheerfully, just when I started to pout.

"Most definitely."

I rolled my eyes but grinned at the two. "Is Seth here too?"

Embry nodded. "Yeah. We came by to talk to Charlie, 'cause we're getting bored in La Push, and then, we were actually gonna call and see if you guys were up to anything."

Seth appeared behind him then with the biggest grin. "Our ban has been lifted!"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, slapping him a forceful high five that made my hand burn. "Damn it, that hurt."

Edward grimaced. "Um . . . Mayzie, I think we should . . . no. We have to talk to Charlie . . . ."

"He's out back, looking for something in the shed, or something," Seth informed him. "Or, wait. You probably already knew that."

Embry winced. "And you probably know that Jake's standing behind me ready to murder you . . . ."

Jacob was in Edward's face right about then. "You stupid, filthy leech."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Relax, pup. It won't happen again."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What are you guys talking about? Jacob, back off, okay? We're here to talk to Charlie, not you."

He snarled. "Stay out of this, Mayze! This doesn't concern you, so just shut up!"

In that moment, Edward seemed to just lose it. At the same time, he seemed to have more control than I had ever seen in him. With a forceful shove, Jacob was sent stumbling back inside.

Edward stepped inside, and when I tried to, he held a hand up to keep me back. Of course, when he walked towards Jacob, I came inside anyways, despite Embry and Seth's protests. It was my house!

Jacob retaliated to Edward's push by punching him in the face. Or, he tried to anyways. Edward dodged it rather easily.

"If you ever say anything like that to her again—"

"Don't you dare talk to my Bella like that!" Jacob roared, fighting the urge to try and hit him again. "You're lucky I don't rip you to shreds and dance around your burning pieces, leech! You had absolutely no right to say any of that!"

"I know that!" Edward shouted in his face, silencing Jacob instantly. "Don't you think I haven't hated myself for it? In case your precious Bella didn't mention it, I at least apologized for it. It was completely uncalled for, and an apology doesn't make it better. It was a mistake, and if I must, I will apologize to you too, Jacob. I'm sorry. I did not mean to lose it like that. My control was edgy. I'm better now, but don't push me. Your girlfriend needs to back off and leave Mayze alone! If she doesn't stop trying to make her life hell, I'll do it again without a single care in the fucking world!"

At least he still said fuck.

"Yeah, well, if your bitchy little whore of a girlfriend doesn't back off and stop trying to hurt Bella, she'll need more than just you to protect her from me," Jacob threatened.

In just one instant, because that was all the time I really had to think, I was frozen in shock. I'm a whore now? A bitch? Yeah, I might be a bitch, but I'm not a whore. And, what is he gonna do to me? I'd like to see him try me! I may not be able to do anything, but he'll be in so much trouble, not only with his pack but also the Cullens. They'll kill him—Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and Alice anyways.

I know what you're thinking. Rosalie cares enough to kill him over you? No. She just wants to kill them, Jacob especially.

Edward's eyes, jaw, and fists tightened, but he didn't have to do anything. Embry and Seth stopped him before he could.

"Jacob!" Embry yelled, shoving him back himself. "Don't say that bullshit! What the hell does that solve? And that's necessary? At least the shit Edward said to Bella was true!"

Jacob reared back and punched him in the face, which is where Edward and Seth intervened. Seth was pulling Embry back to stop him from kicking his ass, and Edward was in his face, glaring deep into his eyes.

"I dare you to do that one more time," Edward hissed.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Chill, you filthy bloodsucker. It was an accident. Embry knows that. Momentary lapse of control. I'm fine. Back off!" To enforce this, he pushed Edward back.

"Try me," Edward warned darkly, making Jacob cringe back a little in fear. "Say another fucking thing. I can promise you that if you so much as even think about harming a hair on her head, you're dead. I won't think twice about it. I will kill you, and I will enjoy every second of it." Then, he was smirking at Jacob. "Soon, though, I won't have to worry about that. Mayze will be able to take you herself."

Jacob started shaking with rage, which Embry and Seth instantly reacted to. Yes, they were still pissed at him, beyond belief, but Bella was in here, and so was I. It wasn't exactly safe to be near a werewolf when they phase.

I got lucky last time.

Charlie came back in about then, right as they got him out the front door and into the woods. He looked confused, with furrowed eyebrows to help iterate that, but when he saw Edward and me, he smiled.

"Well, hello, you two. I was actually about to head out. I didn't think you would be back until tomorrow."

"We're just here to talk to you for a moment," Edward informed him softly, trying his best to be nice and calm about the situation. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to murder Jacob Black, and I wanted nothing more than to stand back and let him.

Okay, fine. I can't lie. I don't want Jacob dead. He's still one of my best friends, my brother. But, right now, he was going way too far with this. Soon, it wouldn't surprise me if I did get to the point where I wanted him dead.

Would becoming a vampire bring that point?

I didn't want to ever get there, but I knew if this kept up, I would.

Charlie nodded. "Of course. What is it?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, Dad. You know, I'm graduating in May, along with Bella. No, I'm not gonna be eighteen or anything, but I'll at least be seventeen, almost there."

"Just come out with it, Mayze," Charlie grinned, rolling his eyes. "I don't have all day for you to beat around the bush."

"Well, Charlie," Edward said gently, captivating his attention with just one look into his eyes. "As you have figured out by now, I am in love with your daughter. I'm sure you've heard that she'll have to become a vampire."

"Yes," Charlie agreed. "I was here for that conversation."

"We're not sure how long we have until she has to become one," Edward continued, now a little nervous. "She wants to get in some human experiences while still human. I was wondering if I had your permission to marry your daughter."

This took Charlie by complete surprise, and for a few moments, I wondered if he was about to have a heart attack.

"What?" Bella shrieked. "You're getting married? Mayze, you're sixteen!"

I rolled my eyes. "Chill, Bella. We won't get married until June, after school is said and done. That in itself is risking it."

She snorted. "You have no one but yourself to blame for this mess. What's the rush to get married? Got something you're trying to hide?"

My eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Bella. He got back yesterday. There hasn't even been time for that. Do your math. That wouldn't work. I'll have you know, though, that it isn't even a possibility, even if he was back in plenty of time."

"I'm sure."

"I don't give a fuck what you think," I hissed, shrugging. "You can believe what you want, but I have the facts."

"I think that's a great idea," Charlie finally said happily, ignoring our argument. "I don't see why you would wait anyways. After this summer, you're stuck together forever anyways, and I'm sure there will be temptations."

"That was part of it," Edward agreed, nodding. "Neither one of us want to go against, well, the way I was raised."

Charlie smiled and shook his head firmly. "Welcome to the family, Edward." Then, he laughed a little. "As if you weren't already family."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Bella shrieked as she stomped up the stairs, dramatizing everything.

I kissed Charlie's cheek before hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much, Dad! I was kinda worried, because I'm only gonna be seventeen . . . ."

"These are special circumstances," Charlie said honestly.

Right about then, Embry and Seth walked back in, still highly pissed off but calmer than when they left.

Charlie grinned at them. "Hey, you two. Guess what I just found out."

Embry and Seth both glanced at us warily, giving us strange looks, before looking back to Charlie.

"Um, I have no idea," Seth finally said.

I laughed and held up my left hand. "We're getting married."